Served on

During the Halloween and Samhain seasons

Country of Origin 

Ireland - Late 18th/Early 19th Century

Recipe

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Key Points / Halloween Connection

- Irish bread that contains various objects baked into the bread and used during Halloween as a fortune telling game

Brief Bio

Barmbrack is the centre of an Irish Halloween custom. These loaves could be decorated on the top with animals or birds. The Halloween Brack traditionally contained various objects baked into the bread and was used as a sort of fortune-telling game. In the brack were: a pea, a stick, a piece of cloth, a small coin (originally a silver sixpence), a ring, and a bean. Each item, when received in the slice, was supposed to carry a meaning to the person concerned: the pea, the person would not marry that year; the stick, would have an unhappy marriage or continually be in disputes; the cloth or rag, would have bad luck or be poor; the coin, would enjoy good fortune or be rich; the ring, would be wed within the year; and the bean, would have a future without money. Other articles added to the brack include a medallion, usually of the Virgin Mary to symbolise taken a religious vocation, although this tradition is not widely continued in the present day.

Commercially produced barmbracks have been sold in Ireland since the late 19th century. In modern times those sold for the Halloween market still include a toy ring, but due to food safety regulations, they do not contain the other items traditionally included.